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Saturday, 24 June 2017

10 best Philips Hue apps for Android

Philips Hue was one of the first truly mainstream smart lights. You can find them in a variety of styles, including bulbs and light strips. There are competitors in the space that may or may not do a better job. That’s usually up to personal interpretation. As it turns out, there are plenty of options when it comes to Philips Hue apps. Philips has left their stuff open for third party developers to play with. Here are the best Philips Hue apps for Android! Note, some of these also come with support for Lifx lights as well, one of Philips Hue’s larger competitors.

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AutoHue (Tasker Plug-in)

Price:$1.29

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Task can do basically everything. It can also control your Philips Hue lights with this plug-in. Tasker has a bit of a learning curve. That means this isn't the best option for those who need something simple and easy. However, the customization is top notch. You can control brightness, color, blinks of various lengths, color loops, and custom JSON scripts. You'll have to learn how to use Tasker. However, it otherwise works very well. It's definitely one of the better Philips Hue apps.

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Hue Disco

Price:$3.99

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Hue Disco is one of the better Philips Hue apps for parties. It taps into Hue's ability to change depending on sound. You just play loud music with the app running. The lights will then change color, get dimmer, or get brighter. It'll all depend on the music you're listening to. There are a variety of features and customization options. It'll even let you know if your music has hit the threshold of your lighting set up and can't go any further. You will need a Philips Hue Controller in order to make this app work.

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hueManic

Price:Free / $2.99

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hueManis is one of many Philips Hue apps that makes your lights more dynamic. By that, we mean that it'll change the colors more frequently. It has about a dozen scenes that you can use. The colors will change and keep pace with things like music, your mood, etc. It works really well on its own. However, there are some additional features for the super tech savvy like ADB commands. You can try this one for free if you'd like. The full version costs $2.99.

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Hue Pro

Price:$1.99

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Hue Pro is one of the better basic Philips Hue apps. It comes with a lot of the same features as the stock app. That includes lighting presets, dimming and brightness toggles, a widget, music integration, and more. You can even control your lights away from home once you set it up right. Unlike most, the developers have a list of devices that they used to test this app. It should still work on devices that aren't on the list. However, it'll almost certainly work better on the apps that do. There's no free version of this one. You'll have to buy it and test it inside of the refund time to make sure you like it.

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Hue Switcher

Price:Free / $3.99

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Hue Switcher is another one of the replacement Philips Hue apps for the stock app. It has one of the most robust sets of features of any app on the list. It features over 40 lava-lamp style changing scenes. You can also control the lights through your phone. That includes color, brightness, and the usual on/off. It also has support for the Hue Tap, Dimmer Switch, and Motion Sensor products. It should work for pretty much whatever you need it to work for. You can download this one and try it for free. The pro version will run you $3.99.

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We're halfway through the list. Here are some more shamelessly promoted recommendations!

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Lumio (for Philips Hue)

Price:Free with in-app purchases

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Lumio is one of the newer Philips Hue apps for Android. It is also one of the simpler options. You can do the basic stuff. That includes turning the lights on and off, changing the color, and changing the brightness. It also boasts the ability to change the color with fewer taps than the stock app. It doesn't compete with the other Philips Hue apps in terms of features. At least, it doesn't yet. However, the interface is really nice and it does the basics pretty well. It may be a bit buggy, though.

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MediaVibe

Price:Up to $2.99

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MediaVibe is a developer on Google Play. They have released several decent Philips Hue apps. Their apps include Philips Hue profiles for a variety of events. They have one for Halloween, one for fireworks, and even Christmas. They also have unique ones like an app with profiles for the World Cup or Twister (the game). Each app is a little bit different. However, they all perform more or less the same function. They load in color profiles that match the event in their name. The prices vary, but none of them are more expensive than $2.99.

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OnSwitch

Price:Free / Up to $9.99

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OnSwitch is one of the more interesting Philips Hue apps. That's because it also comes with direct support for LIFX lights as well. Most of the features work for both sets of smart lights. That includes 30 light scenes, the ability to manage groups of bulbs, and the ability to control independent bulbs. It doesn't really have any more features than the stock app for those lights. However, this is still a great option for people who happened to have both types of bulbs and want one app to at least mostly control all of them. You can download it for free to see if it works. The pro version will cost money.

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Philips Hue app

Price:Free

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The official Philips Hue app really isn't as bad as its horrible Google Play rating would indicate. A lot of people use the Google Play Store to complain about all kinds of Philips Hue issues. Thus, a lot of the criticism isn't with the app, but issues with the entire product line whenever they have an issue with something. In any case, the app is actually pretty decent. It can do the basics like change colors, scenes, and brightness. They also have a very basic, but functional automation system to do things like change scenes or turn the lights on/off at a certain time. It also has support for Philips Hue accessories. It's not perfect and it is fairly clunky. We're not saying it's a five star app. However, it is better than its current 2.9 rating would suggest.

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Scott Dodson apps

Price:Up to $2.99

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Scott Dodson is a developer on Google Play. His works are similar to MediaVibe. He has released several Philips Hue apps that have specific themes. Some of the themes include Firestorm, Thunderstorm, and Soundstorm. They work in a fun manner. For the Thunderstorm version, it'll emulate a thunderstorm by having bright flashes of light to simulate lightning. These apps also come with various customizations, settings, and even sound options. They're fun for what they are. The apps are around $2.99. There are also LIFX versions of these apps if you have those.

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Thank you for reading! Here are some final suggestions for you!

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If we missed any great Philips Hue apps, tell us about them in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest app and game lists!